India is located in the southern part of Asia and is also south of the HimalayanMountains. This southern peninsula has the largest mineral deposits and thelargest cultivable land in the continent.
The population of India is criticallylarge and although nearly all people are Hindu, some are of other religiousdenominations. The life of the Indian people is usually ruled by their castesystem, but the system is not as firm as it was years ago. India has a mixedeconomy. The different elements of India, such as location, resources, andreligious beliefs, mold the outcome of their economy. In the area that India isgeographically located, the climate varies from tropical to extreme frigidtemperatures. In the area closest to the mountains extreme temperature should beexpected.
The northern plains have heavy snowfalls. The northeastern part ofIndia has a cool monsoon season from early December throughout February. Amonsoon is a wind system that produces wet or dry seasons. If there are severedroughts, famines can result from it. On the other hand, too much rain can causemalaria.
Also, the contradictory temperature of the northern days and nightsfortify pulmonary disorders. The annual amount of precipitation along thesouthern slopes of the Himalayas is 60 inches. There is also a hot/dry seasonthat begins in the middle of March until the beginning of July. During this timethe Himalayan area has had temperatures of about 120 F.
Calcutta, which is acity east the Himalayan mountains, has an average daily temperature of 55 F to80 F during the month of January and 79 F to 89 F in July. The other areas ofIndia, the southern and western parts usually have a tropical climate. They alsohave monsoons, but are referred to as the dry or wet seasons. These monsoonscontrol the temperature, rainfall and humidity.
The wet or rainy season is fromJune through September. Winds blow from the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The rain can be overwhelming and is typically 125 inches during this season. TheCherrapunji in the Khasi Hills has a yearly rainfall of about 425 inches. InBombay, which is located in the west central part of India, have temperatures of67? F to 83? F in January and 77? F to 85? F in July. With the differenttemperatures, natural resources can flourish or degenerate.
India has many largecultivable regions, and numerable timber access. India’s agriculture worth isone-third of the annual gross domestic product (GDP). The farms are usuallyhumble and owned by families. The crops that are mostly cultivated for domesticproposes are rice, wheat, cotton, tea and jute, which is a plant that gives afiber which can be made into sacking and cordage. India is responsible for alarge amount of exports to the world.
Sugar production a year during the early1990’s was 230 million metric tons. The annual production of tea was 743,000tons. Rice was 72. 6 million tons and wheat was 56.
8 millions tons. Cotton was at2. 0 million and jute was at 1. 4 million tons.
Other agricultural products thatare sold as exports are cashews, coffee, spices, barley, chickpeas, bananas,rubber, melons, vegetables, corn, sorghum, linseed, millet and mangoes. Thetimber in India is not varied, but is resourceful. In the Himalayan region, thecedar, pine, oak and magnolia trees are abundant. In the slopes if the WesternGhats, were there is heavy rainfall which give a home to evergreens, bamboo,teak, and other timber trees. In the southeastern part, the mangrove and the salare very common.
These two trees are hardwood timber. Other resources includefishing, mining, and manufacturing. The fish, forestry mining and manufacturing,that are of economic significance contribute to the Gross Domestic Products. Shrimps and prawns, India oil sardines, ducks, croakers, Bombay, Indianmackerel, anchovies and marine catfish are the sea life that Indian peopleconsume. Even though the fishing industry is underdeveloped when compared toother fishing industries, it is a vital tool for the people.
In the Ganges deltain Bengal it most important. The government has encouraged deep-sea fishing byconstructing processing plants and paying for fleets and vessels going to theocean. 59% of the country’s 4. 2 million annual catch in the early 1990’s wasmade of the marine species. 23% of the total land area in India of made up offorestlands. The regions bordering, the Himalayas are the largest source forcommercial forestry.
The annual timber harvest was 9. 9 billion cubic feet in theearly 1990’s. The mining industry thrives on Iron ore, coal, mica, dolomite,copper, bauxite, petroleum, natural gas, zinc, lead, chromium, limestone,phosphate rock, silver, and gold. India is among the world leaders who produceiron ore, coal, and bauxite. The other elements mentioned above are alsoproduced significantly. The annual production during the early 1990’s for ironore was 53.
7 million metric tons, for coal it was 247. 3 million, for bauxite itwas 5 million, for manganese 1. 8 million, and zinc 181,00. Three-fifths of theannual production of petroleum (201. 9 millions barrels) is for India’sconsumption. The products that India manufacture are textiles, iron and steel,machinery, processed agricultural products, fertilizer, transportationequipment, nonferrous metals, refined petroleum, chemicals, and computersoftware.
Unfortunately employment in these areas has declined. About 67% inAgriculture, Forestry and fishing and 20% of employment has gone down inservices, such as transportation and communication. Transportation is composedmostly of railroad lines. Its broad network if railroad lines is the largest inAsia and fourth in the world.
The total length of an operating railroad track isabout 38,811 miles long. There are about 1. 3 million miles of routes. All of therailroad systems are publicly controlled. There is 21,164 miles of nationalhighway. India also has a comprehensive network of airlines, which connect tocities and towns all around India.
Connections to the world are controlled byairlines such as: Air India, Indian Airlines and other air-transport airlines. The major ports are in the city of Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Vishakhapatnam. Communications in India include mediums of the telephone, radio and periodicals. Their telephone system serves about 5. 8 millions telephones. The radio system isowned by the government and is called “All India Radio broadcast”.
It servesabout 68. 5 millions radio sets. The programs are held in 24 principal languagesand many other dialects. There are 27.
8 million television receivers. There aretwo English daily newspapers, the “Times of India” and the “IndiaExpress”. In total there are 27. 5 million, 3800 of them are daily.
The life ofthe people of India is very interesting. India is second in the world with thelargest population. It is estimated that 931,044,000 people live in India. Thepopulation density is 294 people per 762 square mile. 73% of these people livein rural areas. 83% of the people are Hindu, 11% are Muslim, 2% are Christian,another 2 % are Sikhs, 0.
7% are Buddhists and 0. 5% are Jain. The Hindu peoplesee themselves as the ones who follow the Vedas, or the way of the four classesand stages of life. Behavior is more important than individual beliefs. MostHindus have a reverence for the Brahmans and cows, do not eat meat, and aremarried with in their own caste or jati.
The Hindu religion has many gods and isone where each individual is free to worship many different gods and havedifferent ritual for them. The social system may sometimes interfere witheconomic growth. The caste system is a religious and social belief that eachperson is born into a position, which they may not advance or decline from. If aperson is born into an “untouchable” for example, (the most undesirablesocial position) they would try fulfilling their life now and not strive to beany better, in hope that in an other life, they will be rewarded with a betterposition.
There is a massive amount of livestock in India that is not used forconsumption. The belief is that a person may return as any living creature andto kill or consume these animals is to kill oneself in another life, reducingthe ability to be promoted. Most livestock is used for labor in rice and otheragricultural fields. All the different elements together such as resources,services, and social beliefs bring the economy to a close. India has a mixedeconomy. Most of the control is through private owner-ships.
India is dependenton foreign goods such as, manufactured goods, raw materials, and foodstuffs. Inthe early 1990’s the United States was India’s leading trading partner. TheUS received 16% of their imports from India also has good trading relations withJapan, Germany, Great Britain, United Arab Emirates, Belgium, Hong Kong, andItaly. The currency in India is called the Rupee. It is divided into 100 paisa.
In 1995 31. 35 rupee was equal to one US dollar. India is a country, which has adiverse environment, large agriculture, and conflicting social issues.
